Mabton High boys on playoff bubble

MABTON - A furious rally at the end wasn't enough as the Mabton Viking boys basketball team lost to visiting Riverview 54-51 this past Tuesday night.

Mabton trailed by seven points with just two minutes left in the contest when it caught fire and nearly pulled even.

The Vikes cut the margin to three points and missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.

The Vikes were helped by Riverview's struggles at the free throw line as the Panthers missed nine charity tosses over the final two minutes.

"We started fouling and they missed," Mabton Coach Brock Ledgerwood said. "We were able hit a few shots and slowly get back into the game."

The late Viking rally countered success the Panthers had earlier in the fourth frame to open up a large lead after the contest had been tight for the previous three quarters.

"They switched to a zone defense in the fourth quarter and that threw us off, we couldn't get our momentum back," said Ledgerwood.

The coach gave Riverview's defense credit for making life tough throughout the game for Mabton's ball handlers.

"The big thing that hurt us were untimely turnovers. I have to credit their defense for creating those turnovers," Ledgerwood said.

Riverview started Tuesday night's game just as it ended, with the advantage, as the Panthers shot out to a 15-11 first quarter lead. The lead see-sawed from there, with Mabton trailing by just two points after three quarters.

"Our effort was there last night, we just turned the ball over and couldn't get the breaks we needed," Ledgerwood said.